Conformational control is at the heart of biology. The binding and catalytic functions of many protein receptors and enzymes are regulated through their controlled conformational changes. Biological systems rely on these conformationally responsive molecules to sense and react to constantly fluctuating environmental conditions. The conformational behavior of such biological molecules therefore controls the function and activity of biological molecules.
However, traditional conformationally responsive polymers are very large macromolecules. Their use in applications that require small dimensions such as in nanometer-sized spaces is therefore limited.
The conformations of many molecules are dependent on environmental conditions such as solvent, temperature, pH, ionic strength, light, or specific molecules. Thus, a multitude of variables could be employed to control stimuli-responsive materials. However, while chemists have devoted significant effort to the design and synthesis of foldable oligomers (“foldamers”), synthetic molecules that can adopt predictable, biomolecule-like, ordered conformations under defined conditions are difficult to make. While synthetic polymers have been made to respond to certain environmental stimuli, few of them display the well-controlled conformational changes that are seen under certain conditions with biopolymers such as proteins. Learning to create responsive materials that can be conformationally controlled therefore remains a difficult challenge in the chemical and materials sciences.